Doggie Dealings

It's been awhile (again), but I'm here now. And, good news - T bought me a new camera for my birthday, so hopefully Bloggity Blog will get plenty more photo postings.

So, one of many things I've been dealing with during my blogging absence has been the one and only Ms. Syd. Now, I love her dearly, but what a high maintenance pup. We've had trips to the vet (first an upset stomach, then a bladder infection), prescriptions (did you know you can fill pet prescriptions at CVS?) and special diets (boiled hamburger is so unappetizing). She's on the mend, but the last few weeks reminded me of an "incident" she had back in 2008.

It was around Halloween and I picked up a bag of candy corn for a (human) treat. I made sure to put it up nice & high, and then didn't give it another thought. After a long day at work, I climbed the three flights of stairs to my tiny (and, as we would later fine out, illegal) apartment, ready to pour myself a glass of wine and relax. I swung open the door, and two things struck me. First, Syd, who usually greets me at the door with jumping, wagging excitement, didn't budge from her perch on the couch. Second, there was an "off" smell permeating the apartment. As I surveyed the room, my eyes fell to the empty candy corn bag on the floor. Crap. Then I looked at Syd's bed and saw orange throw-up...everywhere. And it was on the floor. And the couch. And on the pillows, cushions and blankets. And Syd just sat in the middle of it all, looking up at me with those big, brown eyes.

I attached the leash on her harness and headed outside with her. At first, she seemed fine - running around, sniffing anything and everything, pretty much standard fare for a dog. Then, as we rounded the corner of our block, Syd made a beeline for our neighbor's front lawn and, without warning, started projectile vomiting. A LOT. It was like she was demonically possessed. It kept coming for at least five or six minutes, and when she was finished, she walked sideways toward me - a little woozy. I thought it was best to bring her upstairs to the apartment, but she was too tired and plopped down on the sidewalk and didn't want to budge. Nervously, I glanced back at the pile of sugary throw-up on the front lawn next door and knew I needed to do something. So, I called the animal hospital.

"Hi, I have a very naughty pug who managed to eat an entire bag of candy corn. She just threw up more than I would have guessed possible for a dog her size, and she's now laying on the sidewalk and refuses to move. What do I do?"

"Is she breathing o.k.?"

"Um, seems it. Her tongues is hanging out of her mouth with an orange tint to it, but I think it's the candy. She seems really out of it though."

"Well, ma'am, if you ate an entire bag of candy corn, you'd probably throw it all up, too. And then I bet you wouldn't feel so hot either."

"True."

"Just keep an eye on her. Sounds like she got it all up though, so she should be fine."

"Hummmph. Makes sense. Thanks?"

"No problem. Happy Halloween."